What’s the best way to check if you’re coaching any good? Not sure…. But there’s no doubt you’re a keen coach who is always looking for ways to do things better (or you wouldn’t be reading now). You’ll be good at reflecting and reviewing your approach. Sometimes it is easy to review / reflect ‘on the spot’ or ‘heat of the moment,’ where other times, you’ll need space to digest information. Consider ‘Hot Reviews’ and ‘Cold Reviews.’
A Hot Review occurs almost immediately, generally at the end of a practice or match. You’ll be high on emotion, living in the ‘here and now.’ You’ll have a personal gut feel for things and may engage players and coaching colleagues to dissect your thoughts. The advantage is that problems can be instantly solved, and decisions made quickly. The challenge is that often our immediate feelings / thoughts may be inaccurate and may require further consideration.
A Cold Review occurs when time has allowed the ‘dust to settle.’ Often your thoughts / feelings will change when you’ve had some space to reflect. Depending on the context, this may take a day, week, months or even years. You may have access to video footage, or you may have a prescribed time to connect with your coaching colleagues and players to gather their insights. The advantage is that you’ll make more considered decisions, although at the expense of dragging things on over time.
So consider how you may leverage both Hot and Cold reviews to benefit you, your players and teams best.
